Kenan took stock of his options—a giant goblin, well, taller than the norm, and two goblin warriors that were armored like they'd just been plucked out of the pages of a medieval fantasy book. It was worrying to say the least, but he was confident. He'd already gone up against more than ten opponents at once by the time he was fifteen. There was no use overthinking it. All he had to do was just... fight.
Kenan shot forward, shield and sword held out, leaving himself completely open to attack. He even went as far as to start screaming as he approached. While he couldn't exactly say just how intelligent these goblins were, he hoped they could at least recognize fear and desperation—the very image he was trying to portray to them right now. Of course, it wasn't exactly wrong. Kenan really was scared and desperate, but not to the point he would be so incredibly reckless with his life. The enemies didn't know that, though.
The warrior goblins rushed ahead, a confident look on their small faces. They held their gladiuses much closer to their bodies—they were on guard and focused. But even then, Kenan could still see the tilt at the edge of their lips. The idea that they were dealing with terrified prey was making them complacent, even if just a little. But that changed quickly as Kenan got close enough. Both goblins darted to the side, blades at the ready as they slashed out. They were aiming for Kenan's ankles.
If he was just as afraid as they thought he was, this would have been a terrible situation to be in. But Kenan was ready. He jumped, rolling forward, while both goblin blades slashed through air, missing his legs by a few inches. Kenan's roll ended in a crouch with his back to the goblin chief, but he had no choice. He put every last shred of energy he had into his calves, his feet digging into the earth slightly as he shot forward.
Instinctually—or perhaps it was just luck that he could discover it—but at that moment, Kenan had sent his mana surging through his body. For a moment, he felt as light as a feather and as strong as a gorilla. It was a rather intense feeling that culminated in Kenan moving far faster than he ever had in his life—enough for him to slightly feel the wind dragging at his body as he slashed out from left to right.
A blaze of blue mana, intangible like grass and hanging off his blade like a wispy wind, clung to the sword like a coating—a second skin of pure combat and arcane potential, all smothered and just recently discovered at the edge of that gladius. All the goblin warriors saw was a flash of light, and then darkness.
For Kate, who was watching surprised—astounded so much by the attack she hadn't noticed the enemy shaman making a move—even the barrier seemed unable to withstand Kenan's suddenly charged attack. The gladius had cut through the shield, a sight that reminded her of the fact that Kenan had cut through a skill not too long ago.
Goblin heads flew into the air as the chief bellowed and rushed forward. Kate reacted almost immediately, firing off a Basic Fire Bullet using the wand. The skill bounced off a mana shield that appeared around the boss. Not to mention the boss, with all his bulk, had moved just as fast as Kenan just did, crossing the distance to meet the still-off-guard Kenan. It was almost as if it had been waiting for the exact moment Kenan killed the goblin warriors to attack, and it seemed its opportunity had come.
The goblin chief's claymore came crashing down. He obviously wished to split Kenan in two. Kenan didn't have enough time to bring his shield around. This was it for him. Perhaps he would have been able to move a little bit faster, but his recent discovery of the ability to use his mana to boost his speed had left him with barely any left. Not to mention the sudden burst of speed wasn't something he was used to or had expected, so he was feeling a little disoriented.
But what neither Kenan nor the boss would have expected was a pillar of earth—or rather, a Basic Earth Bullet spell circle—to appear in the space between them and go off. The earth projectile slammed into the boss's weapon and blasted the blade out of its hands and toward the shaman. The annoying mana shield popped up again, defending the shaman from the blade as the boss returned its attention to Kenan.
Fortunately, Kenan had already regained his footing. He brought his short sword back for another attack at the boss, but he felt his instincts screaming at him. He brought the shield he was holding between them. The boss clawed through it, a haze of reddish-black mana trailing its claws as the shield was ripped to shreds and Kenan's hands were torn along with it.
A Basic Earth Bullet smashed into the goblin chief. The shaman's shield came active just in time, but the boss was still pushed back, buying Kenan enough time to scramble back to his feet. The earth bullet also released a cloud of dust after its impact, buying them a few extra seconds—enough time for Kenan to catch the health potion Kate had thrown at him. The goblin chief was already on the move as Kenan poured the entire contents of the health potion into his mouth, then rolled to the side.
The boss's fist slashed a small crater into the ground. In that same instant, Kenan felt the ground vibrating, almost as if something was rushing in his direction. He widened his eyes and turned, quickly getting to his feet and jumping to the side. It was not a moment too soon as massive spikes shot out of the earth. They at least reached Kenan's neck. But even after evading this attack from the shaman, it only took a second for him to realize that he was separated from Kate, and there was no one between her and the boss.
Kenan felt his heart sink into the pit of his stomach. The goblin chief roared and charged straight at Kate. But she stood her ground and leveled both staff and wand at the charging goblin chief. And then she let loose, unleashing a barrage of skills at him.
"Basic Earth Bullet! Basic Fire Bullet! Basic Earth Bullet! Basic Fire Bullet!"
Kate was specific with her attacks. The Basic Fire Bullets she aimed at the boss's head and chest, the Basic Earth Bullets were aimed at his legs. Her plan worked out splendidly. The shaman's shield still held, but it did nothing for the goblin chief's balance. It sent the bellowing boss crashing to the ground in front of Kate.
Kenan didn't waste time. He ran toward the shaman.
The shaman let out a squeak of surprise, sounding like a cornered bird. It had placed the boss between itself and them. Now its gambit to separate Kenan from Kate had also been its downfall. Now there was nothing between it and Kenan. But still, the shaman was some distance away, and Kenan wasn't sure the boss wouldn't be back on his feet before Kenan reached the shaman. And there was no telling if he'd be able to kill the shaman quickly enough. He wouldn't risk Kate.
The shaman panicked, quickly attempting to use a skill against Kenan to keep him back. But the shaman wasn't the aim. One of the spikes was asymmetrical and jutted outward like a pillar in a fence. Kenan placed one foot on it, then vaulted over the earth spikes, his body folding in form like an Olympic high jumper. He landed on his feet, just as astounded as the shocked shaman about his new level of flexibility and dexterity. The boss got to his knees just in time for Kate to run out of mana.
Unfortunately for the boss, the shaman's shield wasn't as infallible—especially not when you were getting pelted by bullet-shaped rocks that had significant power and exploded on impact. Basically, the goblin chief was covered in bruises, as if a group of people had waylaid and mobbed him.
The goblin chief was indignant. It wasn't supposed to be so hard vanquishing a couple of weaklings, but here he was in such a miserable state. The goblin chief roared out his indignation.
*Wham!*
The goblin chief was stunned for a moment as the staff in Kate's hands smashed down with a fury. Just like Kenan had experienced during his last fight with a shaman, the staff seemed to have a stun effect or something. This bought Kate and Kenan enough time for Kate to step back a bit, pulling out a mana potion, while Kenan came screaming from behind. His gladius glowed blue, carrying the same wispy edge from before, yet this time a visible aura of green seemed to wrestle with the blade. It seemed as if something was trying to take a shape but was failing to do so. Kenan swung.
The world seemed to slow down in that moment. Kate had her eyes opened wide and glued to Kenan's attack, all the while trying to empty the contents of a mana potion down her throat. Kenan's blade traveling through the air began to emit a whistling sound as the skill circle for Basic Wind Bullet appeared on top of the blade. A blaze of green, windy mana wrapped around his gladius as it met the shaman's shield on the boss with a loud screech.
For a second, it felt as if the shield would hold out—just a moment where reality had to entertain the thought of Kenan failing, the thought of him being unable to protect his wife. And just as that thought was entertained, reality reasserted itself. Kenan had just combined two skills, pushing his understanding and mastery of them in seconds far more than he had in the last day. The blade broke through.
Kate flinched as the feeling of warm blood sprayed all over her face. She was still a little bit close to the boss, and then she flinched again when the boss's head dropped to the ground with a loud thud. She raised her head, locking eyes with a bloodied Kenan who was looking so pale and weak after the attack that had just decapitated the boss. But rather than fall, he turned without any sign of weakness, then pointed his gladius at the shocked shaman. His words were calm but spoken with such an edge that promised a world of pain and absolute violence against all his enemies. And Kenan's words confirmed it for the goblin shaman.
"You're next!"